Concerned over seven swine flu deaths, the Rajasthan government on Tuesday decided to screen 50 houses around any household from where A(H1N1) influenza or swine flu cases have been reported. The State has seen seven swine flu deaths so far and over a dozen positive cases are being treated.
Of the seven deaths, three persons have died in Jaipur, one each in Kota, Tonk, Barmer and Banswara. This include five women and two men. Of a total of 101 samples taken for testing, 19 have tested positive for A (H1N1) influenza.
Calling upon people to take precautions, the State Health Minister Rajendra Rathore asked the Chief Medical and Health Officers of all districts to check people for fever, cough, cold and running noses, particularly in the families of those where positive cases have been identified and the households around the affected families.
Mr. Rathore directed all District Hospitals to collect blood samples of all suspected cases and send them to the Medical Colleges for testing, and start treatment immediately if found positive. All individuals who have come in contact with the swine flu patient in the past two to three weeks would also be screened. All districts from where H1N1 cases have been reported will be provided with Rapid Response Teams who will be involved in screening.
The Health Minister also asked the Chief Medical and Health Officers to ensure the availability of adequate stock of medicines, sample collection, isolation wards, referral facilities and setting up of Rapid Response Teams.
There were over 3,000 A(H1N1) cases in the State in 2009, over 1,000 in 2010, just 39 in 2011, 434 in 2012 and 865 in 2013. The number of swine flu cases in 2014 was 65.
